The U.S. ag attache in Beijing says while China’s hog herd is expanding, the country’s imports will need to rise to meet demand. The attache also expects a boost in beef imports amid smaller domestic production.
The attache expects pork production in 2012 to rise 4% to 51.3 million metric tons (MMT), following a three-percentage-point decline in 2011. “High prices and resumption in subsidies this summer are encouraging herd expansion and this will boost output beginning early 2012,” it states.
The attache expects China’s pork imports to rise 8% in 2012 to 480,000 metric tons (MT), fueled to continued strong Chinese pork demand.
Meanwhile, the attache expects the country’s beef production to decline by around one percentage point to 5.52 MMT. It expects imports to rise 7% to 45,000 MT in 2012.
